While the United States has just authorized Ukraine to strike Russian territory with long-range missiles, Sweden and Finland are encouraging their inhabitants to prepare for a possible war. The Swedes received an explanatory brochure while the Finns can access a website with preparation advice.
Is war at the gates of Europe? This Monday, the Swedes must have been surprised to receive a brochure encouraging them to prepare for the possibility of war. In total, Sweden has started sending around five million booklets to its residents. For its part, neighboring Finland has at the same time launched a website with similar preparation advice.
Concretely, the two countries abandoned several decades of military non-alignment and joined NATO after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, Sweden is not at its first attempt. Since the start of this war, Stockholm has continually urged its population to prepare, both mentally and logistically, for the possibility of war, given Russia's proximity.
Five versions since World War II
What does this booklet contain? Named “Om krisen eller kriget kommer” (“In Case of Crisis or War”) and sent by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), it offers practical advice for dealing with crises such as war, natural disasters or cyberattacks. With this updated version, it has been sent five times since World War II.
To see the previous version, you have to go back to 2018 when it was distributed to households. The brochure even made headlines: it was the first time it had been sent to residents of Sweden since 1961, at the height of the Cold War. “The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience in order to be able to face crises, and ultimately war,” insisted Mikael Frisell, director of MSB, in a press release.
A 32-page document
The 32-page document describes, using simple illustrations, the threats facing the Nordic country and gives practical advice such as stockpiling food and water. Over the next two weeks, 5.2 million brochures – also available online in Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian, Polish, Somali and Finnish – will be sent to the Swedish population.
In January, former commander-in-chief of the Swedish armed forces Micael Bydén alarmed his compatriots, urging them to “mentally prepare for war”. The government of Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometre-long border with Russia, also launched a website on Monday with crisis preparedness advice.
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